SABLJAK Ella

Impairment Details
She has hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy [type 2]. She has a loss of muscle tone below the knee as well as in her forearms. "Simple day-to-day jobs that require fine motor skills, like doing up buttons or cutting things, can be hard for me." (couriermail.com.au, 21 Jul 2018)

General
ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVE
In May 2020 she was appointed a member of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation [IWBF] Athlete Steering Committee for the Asia-Oceania zone. "I was approached by a zone delegate. They asked if I would be interested in being a part of an Athlete Steering Committee and at the time, I wasn't too sure what I was saying yes to. However, I am so glad I said yes because it has now given us an opportunity to help establish a voice for all athletes." (rollt-magazin.de, 08 Nov 2020; iwbf.org, 04 Sep 2020; rollt-magazin.de, 19 May 2020; iwbf.org, 17 May 2020)

FULL-TIME TEACHING
After qualifying as a teacher in 2017 she went into full-time teaching alongside training. She woke up at 05:00 and trained for two hours before teaching. She trained again in the evening before going to bed at midnight. She stopped after one term due to exhaustion. "Having it all was definitely something I thought I could do, however as a low key perfectionist I couldn't keep up, and my motto 'Fake it till you make it' no longer worked for me. I ended up with pneumonia and in hospital and just emotionally and physically exhausted. I was at the point where I felt like I was letting everyone around me down, especially my teammates as well as my littlest fans/students, and that feeling killed me. Inevitably, I was asked to step away from full-time teaching at the end of Term 1. The reality is that school demanded so much of my time and I couldn't provide them with what they needed." (espn.com.au, 16 Jun 2021; zamwild.com, 03 Dec 2020; exclusiveinsight.com, 12 Feb 2019; LinkedIn profile, 01 Oct 2017)